5 Song Meme Challenge - Downton Abbey
by Bingo the Cat
Summary: Downton Abbey Five Couple Drabble Challenge – set by myself for my fellow DA fan-friend/teacher at school. Five drabbles about five couples from the Downton Abbey Fandom (canon and non-canon), written to the moods of some of my favourite songs.


**A/N:** This fanfic is purely _Downton _Abbey, no crossover whatsoever! It boils down to just fluff, fluff and fluff. And teasing. And fluff. And banter. And did I mention fluff? It will be chock-a-block with Anna/Bates, Mary/Matthew, Charles/Elsie, Robert/Jane, and Sybil/Branson. If I deem it short enough, I'll get rid of some stuff on my profile and put it on my page as well! So, five drabbles about five couples from the Downton Abbey Series… sounds easy enough! Alright then, Mrs Katz, I'll prove my worth as a writer yet!

Ahem… Mrs Katz is one of the Teaching Assistants at my school and has no relation to FanFiction whatsoever. I hope you all enjoy this collection of short stories!

**Disclaimer:** I have not owned, do not own, and will never own, _Downton Abbey_. The glittering period drama I am now sufficiently obsessed with belongs to Julian Fellowes, who seems to have a knack for ending each episode on a slightly sad, yet slightly happy, note. If I did own _Downton Abbey_, Anna and Bates would be settling into their married life very happily after Bates is emancipated (working that garter (mentioned in Episode 2 of Series 3) into their sex life), and Mary and Matthew would have gotten together sooner.

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**RULES:**

**1** – _Pick a song at random, and set your MP3 Player/computer/phone/iPod to "Shuffle"._

**2** – _Write a short story/drabble for a pairing to that song._

**3** – _You only have the length of the song in which to write. You cannot go back and edit it once the song has moved on. _

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**1 – A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri (Robert/Jane)**

He had helped her when she had dropped her apples in the pathway; so why did he feel this strange, fluttering feeling in his heart whenever he thought of her? He was happily married to the woman he loved, with three beautiful daughters and a good life. He employed only the best into his service. So why did Jane make Robert feel so… carefree, so lightweight?

He would have to be brave if he was going to fight this feeling off – he couldn't go and have an affair with her; that wouldn't be fair to any of his family or Jane. He sighed, running a hand over his face wearily. Why, oh _why_, did she have to make him feel like this? This, this feeling… it was dangerous enough to love the fiery American he was proud to call his wife, but to love Jane was a whole 'nother animal.

And yet he couldn't have her. She was forbidden territory, a widower in mourning. And he… he was a married man. Nothing more, nothing less…

**2 – Cannonball, by Damien Rice (Sybil/Tom)**

She stepped into the garage, her heels clacking on the concrete; the chauffeur looked up from his newspaper, and he instantly broke into a smile. He folded it away, and chucked it onto the stool he had placed his tools on earlier for fixing one of the cars. She smiled back, though it was slightly forced after the whole horrid ordeal of last night.

He noticed the fake in the upturn of her lips, and sighed. He opened his arms up, and she collapsed into them, fighting back the sobs piling up in her throat. His voice was thick with his Irish accent when he spoke. "What do you want to do about this? I'll do anything for you…"

Sybil looked up at Tom, who smiled tentatively back at her. She reached up, and cupped his face, brushing away any vestiges of tears in his eyes. She had been thinking for a while about this, and she had decided that she wanted her father to know about hers and Tom's affair sooner, rather than later. They were going to tell her family. She spoke up. "We're going to tell Papa. Tomorrow night."

**3 – Hero, by Enrique Iglesias (Mary/Matthew)**

He had somehow managed to wake earlier than he usually did, so Anna was rather surprised to find him up and about at the time that the servants were up. She had asked him if he was feeling okay; he had just smiled back at the head housemaid, and replied that he was fine, just that his body had decided he'd had enough sleep for one night.

He now stood on the balcony, wrapped up in his dressing gown to fight off the harsh coldness of the December morning. It was his and Mary's first Christmas together as a married couple, yet he felt that he wasn't competent enough for her. He had wanted to live more simply, and she had readily agreed, but was she really ready for a new life?

He felt smooth, thin arms wrap around his torso, and he had to fight the urge to laugh as Mary pushed her face into his back. She sighed, and rubbed his shoulders. "What's bothering you, Matthew? Tell me…"

He looked at her over his shoulder, and simply asked, "Are you really ready for a new life? If you aren't… I can be you're hero…"

**4 – Collide, by Howie Day (Mr Carson/Mrs Hughes)**

"…Dashing away over the smoothing sands, and she stole my heart… away." He finished polishing the silverware, and smiled to himself. Balancing it on his fingertips, he replaced it into the cupboard for the silverware, and shut everything up for the night. Mr Carson then moved over to his desk, and collapsed into his chair, just sitting back and relaxing for a few moments, before the creak of the door roused his attention.

Mrs Hughes stood there, her cheeks flushed a light pink with slight embarrassment at hearing him singing to himself, and with a form of humorous intention as she smiled. He felt his neck flush red, but luckily his collar hid the ugly stain of colour on his throat. "Mrs Hughes? Is there anything I can help you with?"

She stepped further into his pantry, and smiled more broadly. "Actually, I think there is…" She had reached his desk. He started to wonder what she wanted.

**5 – Don't You Feel What I Feel?, by JLS (Anna/John)**

"Dance with me."

He looked around in surprise, and smiled at the sight of his secret lover standing there, her cheeks flushed red from the cold of the courtyard and from her slight embarrassment at asking him such a question when they could be overheard. But he didn't mind; it was Christmas, people would think she'd just had a bit too much to drink. He limped over to her, using his cane for the support he needed. He looked into her eyes, and eventually settled the stick aside, settling one hand onto her waist and the other grasped her hand; she giggled, and settled her other hand on his shoulder. They stepped closer together, and started to sway lightly.

"Won't you need your stick?" she asked him quietly, and John affectionately rubbed Anna's cheek against his own.

"You are my stick… at least for now…" he replied, pulling her in closer, and closer… goodness, could they get any closer together?

Their lips finally met, and he heard her moan of appreciation at the affection as he gently deepened the kiss, her jaw grasped in his calloused fingers. Her hand travelled up to his neck, pulling his closer still, and they forgot about their dance for that evening.

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**A/N:** Again, I hope you all liked this! In fact, if you all review this story and tell me which is your favourite one, I'll put it up on my profile as part of a short story collection! So please leave a review and tell me how you feel after reading this drabbles!


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